My Allegiance (3)

Chapter 19

(Avengers' cell, Loki's POV)

This is my seventeenth day in this cell. Thor has supposedly been fighting my case, but that ridiculous Captain America thinks I must remain in here. This isn't a cell. It's a cage. Designed for the Hulk. Not for me.

I've had time to at least think.

I'm not entirely sure what to do now that Asgard is gone. Must I find a new place to rule over? Where? Certainly not Earth, it's too bland. Too plain. I need somewhere more exciting.

I'm sat cross-legged on the floor, my back to the room behind me, as the familiar beeping sound tells me someone has opened the door and entered the holding room.

"Let me guess? You've spoken to America's darling and he insists that I remain here or be executed on the spot? No surprises there."

"Loki?"

My head snaps up at the voice, and I quickly get to my feet and turn to see her.

She's here.

I thought she was at home, in New York, but she's here. When did she come back? Why does she look so..... ill?

"Y/n?"

"Hi," she says quietly.

She makes her way over to the control desk and pushes a few buttons, opening the door to my cell.

"What are you doing?"

"Letting you out. It's not fair that you're stuck in here."

"What will the others say?"

"I don't care," she shrugs gently. "I'm just glad to see you."

I don't miss the tears in her eyes as I make my way over to her and pull her into a tight hug. Her shoulder blades stick into my arms as she wraps her own around me.

"What....." I hold her shoulders and then feel her arms. There's hardly anything left of her. Underneath her eyes are hollow and blue, and she looks as though there's no life left in her. "What happened to you?"

The tear falls, "Hydra."

A shocked and angry breath escapes me, "Oh y/n, I am so sorry. How long?"

"Um, almost six months."

"Oh my god."

"Yeah. Guess I should've stayed with you in Asgard huh?"

I swallow hard, unsure of what to say.

"Sorry, that was a bit insensitive. Tony told me what happened. I was going to come back there rather than going home, but then he said it's gone. I'm sorry."

"No, it's alright. It was going to happen at some point anyway, so the prophecy said. But, you were going to come back? Why?"

She shrugs again, "I wanted to be somewhere I feel safe. Asgard seemed like a pretty good place to be. Near you."

"You want safe, and you want to be near the man who killed eighty people in two days?"

"You would never hurt me. Loki, since I met you, you've been doing nothing but look out for me. Your intentions have sometimes been a little skeptical, but you would never do anything bad to hurt me on purpose."

"That is true. And, for the record, I would've loved it if you'd come back."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Unfortunately, it appeared that I had some demon, Goddess of Death sister, and she was intent on ruling everything and everyone. You know me, I couldn't let that happen."

"Oh of course not."

"Exactly. So Thor and I did what we had to do to destroy her."

"And you took Asgard down with it."

"There was no other way. I would've rather done anything else, but this was the only way to put a stop to her for good."

"And Odin?"

"Dead. Not by me, I promise."

"So that means you don't have to play dress up again?"

"Well I might for fun," I grin at her, trying to lighten the mood, and she returns a small smile of her own. "How are you feeling?"

"Uh, weak. Tired, but I don't want to sleep. Restless, but I don't want to go outside. Safe, but in danger."

She looks as though she's about to fall over, so I gently guide her down to sit on the floor and I take a seat next to her. She lies her head on my shoulder and lets out a sigh.

"I hate him, Loki. I really do. He took everything from me, stripped me down until there was nothing left to take. My parents died because of him. My neighbours died because of him. He's killed any chance I have of a family of my own. He took whatever power he could from me. There's nothing left of me that he doesn't have."

"What do you mean, he killed your chance of a family?"

She sniffs sadly, "It was um, it was the first time I was there. He was preparing me, as he liked to call it, he hadn't started training me yet. I mean I was 15 when it all started, practically still a kid, but he was clearly thinking ahead into the future. His priority was always these projects, and what I could do that would benefit him. There couldn't be any other complications or distractions, no matter how old I was. So he sterilised me and gave himself one less thing to worry about."

My heart genuinely aches for her. To have children could've been her chance at happiness, at relief from this horrible life, and he's taken even that from her.

"I am so sorry y/n," I cover her hand with my own. She responds by curling into a ball and leaning against me for comfort. I put an arm around her and hold her close.

"I hate him. But I hate myself even more. I did too much for him. I should've been stronger, pushed against him more. Resisted. But I was weak, and he got what he wanted. It's all my fault."

"None of this is your fault. This is all because of him and I am going to help you make him pay."

"People keep saying that, but how is that going to happen if we can't find him?"

"I will go to the ends of the Earth to find him for you."

"What if he's not on Earth?"

"Then I will go to every planet, every universe, every galaxy. I will find him for you."